What is the most important factor when considering joining a MAT?
Heads and Chairs will work exceptionally hard to find the right MAT for their school. They will ask about finances, TUPE, costs and a range of other issues. For the vast majority of MATs, the answers to questions about these areas will be broadly similar, and therefore, although important, are secondary. I would therefore suggest that the most important factor, and the first one to consider when looking at a MAT, is its values. Values underpin how a MAT operates; the way in which the MAT works with its schools; how it engages with schools and organisations outside the MAT; whether it decides to pool schools' money or not; the way it listens to the views of stakeholders and why it believes these values are important to ensure the best outcomes for the pupils and students. The values of a MAT come directly from the Trust Board and therefore these values are consistent over time, giving schools the security of what the MAT stands for in the long term. There isn't a MAT, or ind...